If money has value, wouldn’t you want to know what you’re paying for when you purchase something? Money can drive our purchasing decisions more than any other factor. Some people let money be the only deciding factor on what they purchase. These people are under the impression that if something is more expensive, then they are wasting their money. In other words, if they can get something for cheaper, they’ll always go for it. In some situations that may be the smarter route to take. However, for others – such as the case for microstock images – cheaper isn’t necessarily better.

The Appeal.

The Adobe has a rich history of catering to creative professionals over marketing professionals. It is this line of thinking that has kept them at the head of the digital media manipulation industry for years. Their most famous application, Photoshop, has no equal. In fact, before Adobe took their services to the cloud, Photoshop could easily set someone back well over $1000. Thanks to their Creative Cloud, a subscription to a fully featured version of Photoshop will set you back a mere $20 per month. A Creative Cloud membership will give you access to not only Adobe Stock but their entire lineup of digital manipulation software.

The History.

In December 2014, Adobe purchased Fotolia for $800 million in cash. Six months later, in June 2015, Adobe launched their brand-new microstock imaging service, Adobe Stock (click here for review). They decided not to dissolve Fotolia and allow it to continue operating as its own, separate business entity. The two libraries are one and the same. In fact, it is from the library over at Fotolia that enabled Adobe to launch a service with over 40 million images from day one.

The Purpose.

Just because Adobe has a history of catering to creative professionals does not mean that they are ousting or ostracizing the marketing professional. Adobe is well aware that marketing is both a science and an art. As an art, creative professionals must use their creative flair to create marketing campaigns with the right images and message. As a science, every marketing campaign is scrutinized under a slew of metrics that enable the marketer to look at the data and tweak their campaigns, making each one better and better. Marketing is one of the few industries wherein people get better at it as time progresses.

The Packages.

Adobe has three separate subscription tiers for you to choose from. The first one is synonymous with paying for an image on demand. If you needed an individual image, you could get that one image for $9.99. For about half that price, the next tier up will allow you to get 10 images for $49.99 per month. If you added to a Creative Cloud subscription and add a title from their software lineup to the subscription, such as Photoshop, you could get these same 10 images for mere $29.99 per month. Finally, if you have a need for a large amount of images per month – as a marketing agency might – you can get up to 750 images for mere $199.99 per month. It might seem like a lot of money up front, but each image will only set you back by $.26.

Licensing Options.

In addition to the standard royalty-free license, Adobe offers extended licenses. These licenses extend the capabilities of the royalty-free license and allow you to use the image in ways that you couldn’t before legally. Typical examples include calendars, T-shirts, holiday cards and find more.

The Convenience.

When you add Adobe Stock to your Creative Cloud subscription, you’re paying for the integration inconvenience of Adobe Stock. You see, before Adobe Stock, you had to either shoot your own images or subscribe to a different microstock agency and import the photos into Photoshop to manipulate them. With the way that Adobe has integrated the Adobe Stock into their Creative Cloud lineup, you can now browse, purchase and license the images from directly within the app. Now, you no longer need to leave the app to go find the image you’re looking for. Everything is done from directly within the Creative Cloud software.

The Steep Discount.

I’m going to take an educated guess and assume that the majority of people who subscribe to microstock agencies also subscribe to Photoshop. By adding Adobe Stock to your Photoshop subscription, you can get a deep discount on the images. If you look at the pricing model, you can get one image for $10. At the next level, you can get 10 images for $50, or half the price of an individual image. However, if you were to add Adobe Stock to your current Creative Cloud subscription, you can get the same 10 images for $30 per month. That’s a mere three dollars per image, offering a steep discount over individual images.

Whatever your budget and creative needs are, Adobe Stock got you covered. You can pay for your purchase or subscription via PayPal or credit card. The stock site now accepts charges to major credit cards, so you can avail of its valuable pricing and plans. Here are way to purchase Adobe Stock photos from the stock agency:

A la carte pricing. Like most stock media agencies, Adobe Stock allows you to purchase individual images. Each image cost $9.99, which is a bit higher compared to other stock sites. What sets AS apart from other cheap stock photo sites is their premium collection of images from inspiring contributors around the world. If you are looking for a high quality image for a one-time use only, this is the option for you.

10 images plan. Need more than just one image? This is the plan for you. It comes with 10 Adobe Stock photos per month. Although it is an annual plan, you pay for it monthly. A limited offer is in succession, so you might want to catch it now! Don’t worry its cancel risk-free. If you think this is not plan for you, cancel your subscription within the first month without using up your image downloads.

350 and 750 images plan. These are larger image plans for larger creative needs. Let’s say you’re working with multiple companies or running a media your own media company and you require large volumes of high quality images. These plans are perfect as they allow you to make additional downloads for only $0.99 per image.

All Adobe Stock photos come with a standard license. This means you have perpetual usage rights. You can use the images multiple times with a few restrictions. The stock site does not currently offer extended license. If you do want to purchase additional seats and unlimited reproductions or resales, you should check out other stock sites such as Fotolia.

When it comes to stock photos, a great majority of customers would always think about prices per image or subscription rates – as well as other perks that go with it. They would always want to know where they can get the cheapest stock photos.

Although it doesn’t necessarily mean that cheap stock photos are of inferior quality compared to expensive stock photos, there are a lot of customers who have limited budget to spare for project or website aesthetics so they would mostly prefer cheap stock photos – and in this case, the cheaper the better.

Finding the cheapest stock photo site needs research and, sometimes, even scouring the web for quality websites that could give you the best offer for your buck – or cents. There are a lot – and I mean A WHOLE LOT – of websites that promises “the cheapest stock photos” but fails in the quality or quantity department, so there’s no point in investing there.

To spare you the trouble of spelunking through the every crevice in the internet to find the cheapest stock photo site that’s rich in both quality and quantity, here’s a list of the top 5 stock photo agencies. The list will give you an insight about each site’s offers and pricing and the top one is where you can find the cheapest stock photos for your project and website needs.

Number 5 – Shutterstock

Shutterstock has a pricing of a single royalty-free stock photo at $0.28. New users will also have access to their weekly free photos and other bonuses.

Number 4 – Dreamstime

Dreamstime offers $0.20 for a single royalty-stock photo and, like other stock photo websites, they also offer a free photo gallery when you sign up for a new membership. Dreamstime has a very flexible purchasing system that will conveniently lead you to the images section worth $0.20 apiece.

Number 3 – Fotolia

Fotolia offers an even cheaper price than the previous two agencies. With $0.14 for one royalty-free stock photo, their website also has a free image gallery, and an option to download a Microsoft add-on and a Fotolia Desktop for the users’ convenience.

Number 2 – Depositphotos

As one of the most popular sites around, Depositphotos offers both quality and quantity stock photos for their clients and a cheap price per photo at $0.10 apiece. New users can also enjoy their free trial for all new members which enables them to download 35 free stock photos (5 photos per day for a 7-day period). They also let users have the option to choose their buying plan for more $0.10 images. With these much advantages, they are surely a site worth checking out.

Best Cheapest Stock Photo Site – Photospin

And last, but not least, on the list of the cheapest stock photo agency on a price per photo comparison goes to Photospin. Users can spend for as low as $0.01 per stock photo with over 2.5 million images to choose from. Although it isn’t as much as other popular stock agencies, but with that cheap price there’s no way you can possibly pass up on such an offer. That amount of image library is still definitely large enough to at least contain several images that you need.

With numerous vector sites in the Internet, why should you visit Vectorain.com? We can only give you six reasons, but they sure are enough to make you consider the website as your primary vector source. Vectorain was founded by stock photo and vector expert, Amos Struck, to provide the creative community with the chance to download vectors free of charge.

An extensive library. Vectorain has an extensive library of high quality vectors. You can choose among 4,000 premium quality vectors and use them in any project. All files include a standard license and are originally for sale.

Compatible format. One of the most common issues that creatives encounter when downloading vectors is incompatible format. Vectors at Vectorain.com are all in ZIP format, including the editable EPS and high resolution JPEGs.

Hand-checked. All vectors are hand-checked for quality. You don’t have to worry about poor quality and badly-designed files. They all work with any editing software, such as Adobe Illustrator.

Standard license. All files come with a standard license, so you can use them for personal and commercial purposes – completely free of charge. You can use them in any project for as long as want as permitted by the terms and conditions stated by the website.

Premium quality. Some files are pulled from VectorFresh, making it easier to find what you are looking for. The added vectors will surely compliment your personalized choices.

Backed by industry experts.com is founded by a stock photo and vector expert. Many graphic designers encounter issues such as corrupt and broken vectors. The founder Amos wants to save you from the trouble of ending up with such files.

The ultimate reason why you should consider Vectorain.com is that they are completely free. Yes, we are not kidding. The website offers premium quality vectors at no cost. All the vectors you can get at absolutely no price.

Founded in 2003 by Jon Oringer, Shutterstock has been the go-to place of many creative professionals because of its vast library and flexible pricing. It features the most vibrant collection of images in the market, as well as the most innovative tools to fuel the creative process. The company has also expanded its portfolio to include Bigstock, giving you a wider range of images to choose from.

Shutterstock already offer stunning content at straightforward prices. What do you need a Shutterstock coupon for? Well, having too much savings is never a bad thing. If you can give your budget more space, you should take that opportunity. Let us take a look at Shutterstock’s pricing and plans first:

Image Packs. Image packs are perfect for small, one-time projects. Shutterstock offers packs starting at 5 images per pack for only $49. If you need more images, you can also purchase the larger 25-image pack. All images must be downloaded within one year of purchase and include a standard license.

Professional. For larger and recurring creative needs, Shutterstock offers a monthly and annual Professional plan. They include 350 or 750 images per month with no daily download limits. The 350-image annual plan costs $169 per month, but the 750-image plan gives you 20% savings at $199 per month. If you only need large volumes of images for a month, you can also opt of the monthly plan starting at $199 for 350 images.

Team. Are you working with a team? No problem. Shutterstock offers team plans starting with 2 users for only $299 per month. These plans come with 750 images per month for 1 year.

With a Shutterstock coupon, you can save at least 10% from your purchases. You can use your additional saving to other important activities in your creative projects. Where can you get the coupon codes? The stock site itself offers them. You can also get larger discount from affiliate websites.

If you are looking for royalty free definition, you’ve come to the right page, check the full definition of royalty free here. Many people are confused about the different types of licenses used to copyright material and intellectual property. They don’t truly understand what is included when they purchase a royalty free license. Royalty free, RF for short, refers to the right to use an image, illustration or video without paying for license fees or royalties each time it is used or sold over a period of time.

Royalty free gives the user the right to use the creative file without many restrictions. It is usually based on one-time payment to the licensor – the stock photo agency. It allows the user to use the photo in several projects without purchasing additional licenses. It does not offer exclusive rights, so there is a great chance the RF images can be found in many websites. By paying for the license only once, the user can use the image in any project for as long as necessary.

Understanding Image Licensing

You may be wondering why you have to spend money buying royalty free images if you can download photos for free in the Internet. Like any other intellectual property, royalty free images belong to a specific owner who has the rights to use and sell them. The photographers or contributors retain the rights to the images to be sold multiple times. By purchasing a license, you are acquiring the right to use the image in any creative project for as long as you like. But, it does not transfer the copyright.

What happens if you use free images? As opposed to royalty free images, free photos do not have the necessary license and releases. You can be in serious trouble when the copyright police come chasing your back. With royalty free, you are protected from copyright issues that may arise on the use of images. You do not have to pay every time you use the image, too. You only pay once for a set of rights, with a few restrictions.

Top Stock Photo Agencies

Many stock photo agencies offer royalty free images. Now that you know what royalty free definition is, you can start looking for an image bank to get your royalty free photos from. Some of the most popular stock sites to creative professionals include Shutterstock, iStock, Depositphotos and Getty Images. These stock sites have large collections of royalty free images, so you will likely find what you are looking for, click here!

When choosing which site to subscribe into or purchase images from, consider your creative needs and budget. For cheap stock photos, you can check out Shutterstock, iStock and Depositphotos. They have affordable rates to suit every budget. If you are looking for higher quality and more unique content, Getty Images is perfect for you. However, the photo rates are higher compared to other stock sites too.

BigStock leads the way in high quality, affordable, and available content for everyone. It has over 36 million stock images, videos and vectors in its collection, with 75,000 fresh images added every week. These premium content are from talented artists and photographers from all around the world. The stock site boasts monthly and annual subscriptions that offer great savings with high-volume image needs. Furthermore, it licenses individual images with cheap and convenient image packs.

Currently, the stock photo website offers a free 7 day trial and BigStock coupon for credit packages and subscriptions. The free trial allows you to explore the stock photo website for 7 days without charges. If you decide to purchase and download images, you can get the 25 image credit pack to avail for additional 10 credits for FREE. This gives you 35 credits to purchase and download the images perfect for your creative projects.

If you are certain that the stock photo website meets your creative needs and budget, you can get a Bigstock coupon to get discounts for any credit package or image subscription plan. Both coupons offer 15% discount on either images on demand or subscription plans. Both are also valid through December 31, 2016, so you should hurry and redeem them now! The next question should be, what can you use your download images for?

BigStock images include a royalty-free license. This means you can use them in any way you please. However, you cannot use them:

To resell images

On a product where the image is a dominant feature

As part of a logo or trademark

In an offensive way

Some BigStock images, especially those photos of celebrities or news events, are for editorial use only. This means you are not allowed to use them in commercial purposes. For instance, a photo of Adam Levine cannot be used to promote your brand of sunglasses. You can only use the photo for articles pertaining to him or his work (i.e. Adam Levine Returns to The Voice as Coach or Top 5 Maroon 5 Songs that I Love).

When you redeem a BigStock coupon, you can download images of any size – including small, medium, large and extra-large JPG files. You can use them on anything under the stock photo site’s Standard license. You will be billed three days before your subscription with the applied discount from your coupon. If you wish to change or cancel your plan, access your account anytime or contact the super support team.

There are a number of things you can do with a BigStock membership. You can explore millions of high quality images and download the images that fit your projects for an affordable price. The best thing is you can enjoy further savings with a BigStock coupon. What are you waiting for? Acquire a coupon and get started now!

iStock has just announced their new subscription program that provides access to iStock Essentials and over 5 million hand-picked images and illustrations you will never find anywhere else. The stock photo website has just recently offered their own subscription packages for monthly and annual plans. It allows creative professionals to download images that would cost far more the average image when purchased by credits.

The stock photo website is part of the Getty Images Group and offers access to millions of images through two types of subscriptions: Essentials and Signature. The Essentials plan contains most imagery readily available in other stock photo websites as well. It allows creative professionals to download 250 images and 750 images on monthly and annual plan respectively. On the other hand, the Signature plan contains the higher production value collections in addition to the images includes on Essentials.

Essentials Subscription Plan. With this subscription, you can bring your projects to life with high quality images that give you all the core concepts and designs you need. For only $199 a month, you can access slightly more than half the stock site’s library and download 250 images. Essentials has a very competitive pricing that offers images for 20 to 33 cents less than other stock sites.

Signature Subscription Plan. This subscription gives you premium access to hand-picked collections plus all the images in Essentials library. You can download stock images that you will only get from iStock. For only $499 per month, you can download exclusive images and high value pictures. If you are looking for high value content, this is the best plan for you.

New iStock Subscription Program

iStock recommends the Signature collection, which includes all Essential images plus millions of hand-picked images from exclusive photographers. The subscription is available in a monthly or annual plan, which includes 250 images and 750 images respectively for a higher cost. While it is more costly than the average subscription in the market, you can be sure that you will not find the images from the other guys.

If you want to try the Signature subscription but have limited budget, don’t despair. The stock photo website, in collaboration with Stock Photo Secrets, offers iStock coupon code 2016. This promo code gives you a 15% discount on your subscriptions. Compared to other stock photo sites, iStock has a competitive subscription rate. When added with iStock promo codes, you will be able to get premium access to high quality images to complete your creative projects.

The Signature subscription has a bit higher pricing than the competition, but it gives you value for your money. Anyway, Stock Photo Secrets can help you get additional savings through iStock coupon codes 2016.

The Dollar Photo Club closes in less than a month. It will be closed permanently, leaving a bunch of creative professionals, like you, orphans of the stock site. Before this happens, you need to find another stock photo website that can pass as your primary image source. However, there are some things you need to consider when choosing a DPC alternative. These include image quality, variety, pricing and exclusivity among others.

Image Quality. The DPC is known to offer high quality images at various sizes. When choosing a Dollar Photo Club alternative, you should look for a stock site that offers equally if not higher quality images at different sizes as well. It should also offer images at high resolutions with royalty-free license.

The perfect Dollar Photo Club alternative for expired members offers a vast collection of premium quality images. It should also offer new images to inspire creative professionals around the world. In short, it should help you discover and explore a creative world.

Budget is an important thing to consider when choosing a DPC alternative. The Dollar Photo Club offers images that suit everyone’s budget. Frankly, $1 per image is pretty difficult to match. But don’t despair. There are a few that offer images at cheaper rates.

Since the features and benefits of DPC are exclusive to its members only, your next image source should also provide the same exclusivity.

Long-term. The Dollar Photo Club alternative should be here to stay. With the DPC closing, one thing you do not need is another primary image source that will be closing anytime soon. You should find a stock photo site that will be around for another ten years or so.

Download Limits. Another thing to consider is download limits. Your next stock photo website should have no download limits. You should be able to purchase and download images anytime you want so you can complete your creative projects.

Many stock photo sites now offer credits and downloads that do not expire. For your Dollar Photo Club alternative which you can find here, you should find one that offers images that do not expire. You should be able to download images forever so you can make use of what you pay for.

These are only some of the top things you need to consider when choosing a Dollar Photo Club alternative. If you still haven’t found the stock site for you, check out 99 Club. It offers fairly the same products as the DPC and more. It offers high quality images that do not expire with royalty-free license and at high resolutions. You can download images for as low 99 cents after paying the one-time fee and no auto-renew annual membership of $99.